1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to stanchions or stands which are designed to support a piece of equipment in a spaced position above a supporting surface such as a floor or ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stands are in extremely common use and are used to support equipment such as musical instruments, cameras, surveyors levels, telescopes, lighting equipment, microphones, intravenous containers, just to name a few usages for such stands. Most stands are designed to support the equipment in a directly vertical position which means that the main supporting member of the stand is always located perpendicular to the supporting surface. For some objects that are being supported, it would be more preferable to not have a vertical main supporting member. Examples of such equipment would be for an intravenous container where it is desired to have the container located directly above the patient with the main supporting member of the stand being located in a slanted configuration so as to not interfere with the body of the patient. Such slanting of the main supporting member is desirable also in conjunction with musical instruments where the stand is used to support sheet music. With the main supporting member being slanted away from the musician, this provides space for the legs of the musician, peg room for the cellist, slide room for the trombonist, and so forth, who normally is in a seated position directly adjacent the stand. Also, when the stand is used to support a microphone, a vertical main supporting member of the stand causes the base section of the stand to interfere with the feet of the microphone user. Again, by having a slanted main supporting member, the base section of the stand is spaced from the user so as not to interfere with the user.
Further, for some applications, users, such as photographers and animated musicians, may wish the stand to function temporarily as a unipod. Stands of the prior art have not been able to accommodate this type of movement.
Also, stands of the prior art are designed primarily to be used on level floors or level ground. When the supporting surface is not level, such stands of the prior art frequently become unstable and are subject to overturning. In order to accommodate unlevel surfaces, some of the stands of the prior art have been equipped with extendable legs so as to enable adjustment of the stand to assume a vertical position even when located on an unlevel surface. However, such extendable legs increase the complexity of the stand thereby increasing the cost of manufacture and also require additional setup steps for the stand when used on an unlevel surface.